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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
FEBRUARY 2017
32
U
ntil recently, tipper trucks
were identified as vehicles
with restricted hauling
functions in construction-
related applications only.
In mining and quarrying, tippers have
always been regarded as ideal for light
duty applications such as re-handling of
ore and hauling of crushed material from
the crushing plants to stockpiles. For long,
tipper vehicles have been excluded from so-
called arduous applications such as hauling
run of mine material from the rock face to
the processing plants, where yellow metal
haulers, mostly articulated dump trucks
(ADTs) and rigid dump trucks (RDTs), have
thrived over the years.
However, passing through immense
innovative technological modifications,
tipper trucks now offer both cost effective
dumping and haulage solutions to the
construction, mining, quarrying and related
industries. The new models of tipper trucks
have been reengineered to their core. They
come with better ground clearance, allowing
them to operate well on uneven work sites.
The trucks have newer tyre variants with
better frictional properties, thus allowing
them to conquer rough, muddy and slippery
terrain.
In developed markets, tippers are no
strangers in mine and quarry pits, but their
uptake in such applications in the local
environment has been slow in coming.
However, OEMs argue that at a time when
the success of every operation depends
on critical optimisation of operational
efficiencies, tippers offer cost-effective
hauling solutions that can significantly
reduce operating costs for local mines and
quarries. But, are local fleet owners ready
to ditch their “bigger is always better”
mentality and opt for tippers at the expense
of the tried and tested yellow metal haulers?
Relooking hauling equipment
Roelof Wallace, Astra sales manager at
CNH Industrial, says due to the current
economic status of South Africa and other
African countries at large, fleet owners
are starting to look at on-highway options,
which are somehow cheaper than their ADT
counterparts.
Elvis Mutseura, product marketing
manager at Iveco South Africa, says every
business is looking for ways to increase
the gap between earnings and operating
costs. As a result, local fleet owners are
fast realising that there are applications
previously serviced by conventional haulers
Tipper truck manufacturers are continuously improving their product
offerings to challenge for a bigger share of hauling functions in sectors such
as mining and quarrying, where these vehicles previously had a minimal role.
By
Munesu Shoko
TIPPING INTO NEW
APPLICATIONS
Volvo Trucks offers tipper vehicles with
6x4, 8x4 and 10x4 axle configurations.